What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an asset/currency that is:-

Decentralised:- The Bitcoin protocol enables consumers and businesses from around the world to instantly transfer bitcoin to each other without relying on a middleman to verify the transfer. It is the first open software protocol to give competition to the financial services industry, which typically acts as the third party that verifies transfers of funds between people. No central authority can change the monetary policy of Bitcoin and cause problems for the ecosystem because it is distributed across the world in many countries and jurisdictions. If a part of the Bitcoin network goes offline the remainder of the network can still function fine.

Purely Digital:- Bitcoin relies on cryptography to keep it safe and secure. The only risk is storing the private key to your Bitcoins in a safe and sensible fashion (Similar to keeping your cash wallet safe). The beauty of it being digital means you can send a transfer of Bitcoin to anyone in the world in an instant (or 10 minutes for confirmations). This can be done 24/7 for 365 days of the year. Due to its digital nature a single Bitcoin can be divided down to a million decimal places if need be. This allows everyone to procure bitcoin regardless of their budget. Existing payment networks were not built from the ground up for the Internet and Bitcoin is capable of revolutionising the world of finance in the same way that the Internet has revolutionised the world of information. You no longer have to go to a library to read books for the information you require, or go to the shops to purchase goods, this and more can now be done from the convenience of your home thanks to the Internet. Bitcoin is for commerce what the internet is for free exchange of information.

Global:- Bitcoin operates on a global scale and currently has the largest computing network in the world. This large network guarantees the security of the system and keeps it stable when approving transactions. Because of Bitcoin’s decentralised nature, Bitcoins can be transacted any where across the globe without the restrictions of today's banking systems. Bitcoin is not controlled by any government or central bank, meaning it is very hard to steal your wealth through strict capital controls and inflation. Bitcoin could even become an alternative to national currencies one day.

A Store of Wealth:- There is a coin limit of 21 million Bitcoin programmed into the Bitcoin protocol. It is impossible to create more and the coin limit ensures that the value of bitcoin increases with time through a process called deflation in comparison to fiat currencies where inflation eats at the value of a nations currency. Bitcoin rewards those who save and spend their money in a prudent fashion in comparison to today's world where the public are encouraged to take part in a debt based monetary system. The hard limit of 21 million Bitcoins should also not be a problem as a single Bitcoin can be divided down to a million decimal places, meaning that even though Bitcoin is scarce it is also easily divisible and exchangeable.